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The following is a summary of “Real-world evidence of anti-VEGF therapies in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Italy: The RADIANCE study,” published in the February 2025 issue of Ophthalmology by Parravano et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the real-world treatment patterns, effectiveness, and safety of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies for anti-VEGF naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in Italy.  

They enrolled consecutive anti-VEGF naïve patients with nAMD from 13 clinical sites across Italy. These patients began treatment with aflibercept, ranibizumab, or bevacizumab between January 2017 and November 2018. The primary objective was to evaluate the change in visual acuity (VA) 52 weeks after initiating anti-VEGF therapy.  

The results showed that 405 patients were enrolled, with 263 having at least 2 VA measurements included in the completer analysis (CA) set. At 52 weeks, the median VA change from baseline in the CA set was +1 letter, and 41.1% had a ≥ 5-letter improvement. No significant differences were observed between anti-VEGF agents. Patients received a median of 5.0 injections (range: 3–6) of the initial anti-VEGF agent during the first year. Those receiving ≥ 6 injections had better VA outcomes. A decline in injection frequency over time indicated undertreatment.  

Investigators concluded the RADIANCE study suggested moderate overall effectiveness of anti-VEGF treatment after 1 year treatment in naïve patients with nAMD in Italy, with real-world outcomes demonstrating suboptimal treatment and no significant differences among anti-VEGF agents. 

Source: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/11206721241310628